WASHINGTON - The National Park Service has agreed to give thousands of anti-war demonstrators a prime spot along President Bush's inaugural parade route that will allow them to protest during the procession.

The anti-war group A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition is planning to erect its own bleachers in the space, an open plaza on Pennsylvania Ave., just a few blocks from the Capitol building, said Brian Becker, national coordinator for the group. The bleachers could seat up to 1,000 people and the park service estimates up to 10,000 could fill the space standing shoulder to shoulder.

"I don't think it's ever happened in history that the anti-war movement has ever been able to have this kind of setup," Becker said.

Park service spokesman Bill Line said the agency has offered the space in John Marshall Plaza to the group but is still waiting for them to submit written confirmation. Becker said A.N.S.W.E.R. plans to submit the paperwork as soon as they can work out details about where to set up the bleachers.

The presidential motorcade carrying Bush will pass directly in front of the protesters' bleachers, which will be across the street from other bleachers set up by the official inaugural committee. The plaza, between the federal courthouse and the Canadian embassy, runs about 240 feet along the historic street that stretches from the Capitol to the White House.

The parade gets under way at 2 p.m. EST on Jan. 20 after Bush's swearing-in at the Capitol and a celebratory luncheon.

Becker said he considers the agreement a "partial victory" but still inadequate because the general public, including many who are opposed to the war in Iraq, will not be able to move into other areas along the parade route as they have in the past.

The park service has also issued A.N.S.W.E.R. permits for protesters to stand in nine other locations along Pennsylvania Ave., but Becker said most are "tiny spaces" behind bleachers or in fenced-in areas more than 100 feet from the parade route.

"Those are meaningless areas, we can't use them," Becker said.

The inaugural committee is staying out of the fray, committee spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said. "The inauguration is a celebration of our country's greatest ideals, including freedom of speech," Schmitt said.

The Secret Service is allowing protesters to carry signs, but they are prohibiting them from being affixed to poles or sticks for security reasons, Becker said.

The A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition plans to host military families with members in Iraq or whose children have been killed there, as well as veterans and anti-war activists from around the country.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen other groups opposing Bush held a news conference Wednesday to highlight the many marches, rallies and acts of civil disobedience set to take place on inauguration day.

A group called "Turn Your Back on Bush" is asking thousands of activists to line the parade route and turn their backs on the president as his motorcade passes. In a separate march, members of the D.C. Anti-War Network will carry 1,000 coffins draped in black to call attention to soldiers dying in Iraq, then stage a "die-in" at Lafayette Park near the White House, spokesman Jim Macdonald said.

Crumbley

01-15-2005, 10:15 PM

Epic.

Reds4Life

01-15-2005, 10:51 PM

Meanwhile, more than a dozen other groups opposing Bush held a news conference Wednesday to highlight the many marches, rallies and acts of civil disobedience set to take place on inauguration day.

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh, civil disobedience ain't gonna fly with the Secret Service. If that happens anywhere near the President the protestors are going to have big problems.

KronoRed

01-16-2005, 12:28 AM

Why exactly does a sitting president get another inauguration? seems like a waste of money to me.

CbusRed

01-16-2005, 02:01 AM

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh, civil disobedience ain't gonna fly with the Secret Service. If that happens anywhere near the President the protestors are going to have big problems.

I have a cousin who is a secret service agent, And I love hearing his stories of having to remove protestors from various events. Trust me, they will be treated like the disruptive morons that they are.

Reds4Life

01-16-2005, 06:02 AM

I have a cousin who is a secret service agent, And I love hearing his stories of having to remove protestors from various events. Trust me, they will be treated like the disruptive morons that they are.

Sweet! I was a agent for 7 years. How long has your cousin been there? Maybe I know him. :RedinDC:

Crumbley

01-16-2005, 06:21 AM

Jack Bauer posts on Redszone? Woah.

WVRed

01-16-2005, 09:36 AM

Why exactly does a sitting president get another inauguration? seems like a waste of money to me.

Its just a reason for DC to throw a big party.

GAC

01-16-2005, 12:08 PM

Its just a reason for DC to throw a big party.

That's pronounced "PAR-TEY!" :allovrjr:

westofyou

01-16-2005, 12:15 PM

Trust me, they will be treated like the disruptive morons that they are.

It says: home is where your heart is,
But what a shame,
'Cause everyone's heart,
Doesn't beat the same,
We're beating out of time

RANDY IN INDY

01-16-2005, 03:02 PM

I have a cousin who is a secret service agent, And I love hearing his stories of having to remove protestors from various events. Trust me, they will be treated like the disruptive morons that they are.

My next door neighbor is a Secret Service agent, and has been on Cheney's detail, recently. He's a great guy, calm, cool and calcualted, but you can tell he's not the kind of guy you'd want to mess with.

CbusRed

01-16-2005, 03:10 PM

Sweet! I was a agent for 7 years. How long has your cousin been there? Maybe I know him. :RedinDC:

He has been on for as long as I can remember, so I would say over 15 years.

RosieRed

01-16-2005, 04:18 PM

Trust me, they will be treated like the disruptive morons that they are.

"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." --Justice William O.Douglas

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt

Chip R

01-16-2005, 04:54 PM

I have a cousin who is a secret service agent, And I love hearing his stories of having to remove protestors from various events. Trust me, they will be treated like the disruptive morons that they are.
If they are disruptive, then they should be treated as such. However if they are just holding up signs and not causing trouble, then they should be left alone.

It's important to realize, especially on Inauguration Day, that the peaceful transfer of power is something that this country should be very proud of. And that in a democracy, people can protest against the powers that be as long as they do it legally. I'm sure Sadaam and his boys didn't allow any protesters when he was in power. I would think an inauguration that didn't show Secret Service agents busting heads would be a great example to the Iraqi people as they go to the polls later this month.

Reds4Life

01-16-2005, 05:14 PM

The Secret Service isn't going to walk around looking for protestors to beat up. However, protestors at these types of events like to push the envelope and clashes with security/law enforement are almost a given. That is where there might be trouble, they aren't going to be dealing with a local yokel police deparment here. If protestors push, the Secret Service will push back, hard.

WVRed

01-16-2005, 05:17 PM

The Secret Service isn't going to walk around looking for protestors to beat up. However, protestors at these types of events like to push the envelope and clashes with security/law enforement are almost a given. That is where there might be trouble, they aren't going to be dealing with a local yokel police deparment here. If protestors push, the Secret Service will push back, hard.

Exactly.

Look back at the arrests during the RNC. This will literally be the same thing.

Chip R

01-16-2005, 05:37 PM

The Secret Service isn't going to walk around looking for protestors to beat up. However, protestors at these types of events like to push the envelope and clashes with security/law enforement are almost a given. That is where there might be trouble, they aren't going to be dealing with a local yokel police deparment here. If protestors push, the Secret Service will push back, hard.
And that's fine if they are there to make trouble and/or breaking the law. But sometimes law enforcement types get carried away. If no laws are being broke and no one's safety is in danger - especially the president's - let them protest to their heart's content. Causing confrontations is only going to cause bad press and play right into the hands of the protestors who want to cause trouble. I'm sure the Bush administration would love nothing more to see reporters on TV with sad faces saying that while there were protesters, there were no confrontations by law enforcement. No "jack booted thugs" for the more liberal rags to write about. If you are in the Bush administration or you are a supporter of it, wouldn't you love to see Inauguration Day coverage all about the President and not about any protesters?

RedsBaron

01-16-2005, 05:46 PM

I'm sure the Bush administration would love nothing more to see reporters on TV with sad faces saying that while there were protesters, there were no confrontations by law enforcement. No "jack booted thugs" for the more liberal rags to write about. If you are in the Bush administration or you are a supporter of it, wouldn't you love to see Inauguration Day coverage all about the President and not about any protesters?
I expect you are correct, but the flip side is that there are probably quite a few protesters who very much want to provoke a confrontation so there can be those stories about "jack booted thugs" beating them up.